Dorothea of Saxony (german: Dorothea von Sachsen; 4 October 1563 in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

– 13 February 1587 in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

) was a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

princess from the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Life

Dorothea was born 4 October 1563, the daughter of the Elector

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

of Saxony (1526–1586) and his wife

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

(1532–1585), daughter of King

Christian III of Denmark Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

. Of the four 15 children from the marriage of her parents, only four survived their father; Dorothea among them. On 26 September 1585 in Wolfenbüttel, the twenty-two-year-old Dorothea married the future Duke

Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

(1564–1613), who was one year her junior. At the time, her mother Anna was seriously ill and Dorothea had ''felt very badly and cried pitifully'' when she said farewell.Karl von Weber:
Anna Churfürstin zu Sachsen geboren aus königlichem Stamm zu Dänemark
', p. 495 The marriage would consolidate a Protestant alliance of German princes, led by Count Palatine John Casimir of Simmern, who had married Dorothea's sister

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

in 1570. Unfortunately, the marriage would be short-lived as Dorothea would die in childbirth aged 23 on 13 February 1587. Henry remarried a few years later on 19 April 1590. By his second wife, Elizabeth of Denmark, Henry had ten more children, one of whom was named Dorothea.

Issue

From her marriage to Henry Julius Dorothea had one daughter: * Dorothea Hedwig (1587–1609) : married in 1605 Rudolf of Anhalt-Zerbst (1576–1621)

Ancestors

References and sources

* Wilhelm Havemann:
Geschichte der Lande Braunschweig und Lüneburg
', *

Günter Meißner Günter Meißner (3 July 1936 – 19 November 2015) was a German art historian, who became known as editor-in-chief and publisher of the ''Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon''. Life Born in Hanover, Meißner studierte am Kunsthistorischen Institut de ...

:
Saur allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, K.G. Saur Verlag
', p. 508 * Jörg Jochen Berns:
Höfische Festkultur in Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, 1590-1666: Vorträge eines ..:
', p. 421 * Karl August Muffat
Die Verhandlungen der protestantischen Fürsten in den Jahren 1590 und 1591 ...
', p. 5

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorothea of Saxony Nobility from Dresden House of Wettin 1563 births 1587 deaths German duchesses 16th-century German people Albertine branch Deaths in childbirth Daughters of monarchs